“There is a shocking number of violations regarding maintenance, safety and failure to inspect,” said James P. Frantz, the attorney representing five passengers who were injured in the bus crash and relatives of two others who were killed.

Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is Norberto Perez of Otay Mesa, the bus driver. Perez told authorities that he had experienced brake problems moments before the Feb. 3 crash, and witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the rear underside of the vehicle.

The bus was headed back to Tijuana after a daylong outing in Big Bear, when the driver lost control while traveling down Highway 38 near Yucaipa. The bus rear-ended a Saturn sedan and then flipped over, hitting a Ford pickup that was pulling a trailer.

Eight passengers, from San Diego County and Tijuana, were killed and dozens of others were injured.

Plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

On Feb. 8, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shut down the company, saying the tour bus company’s representatives had misled inspectors during an audit performed a month earlier. The inspectors had given Scapadas a passing grade in determining whether the company was compliant with federal safety standards.

In its February order, the agency declared Scapadas’ continued operations an “imminent hazard to public safety.”